All Activity
- Today
-
Missile Intercept not Possible but Unit Continues to Fire
This does ring a bell. What game version are you using? It might be something that has been dealt with previously. If you are using the latest release then the promised saved game and test scenario will be needed I'd guess. Good to see old players coming back on board 😁
-
CDR Salamander - May Day Midrats Melee
Time to catch up on what’s making a buzz on the waterfront. Join us this Sunday at 5 PM Eastern for a Midrats Podcast May Day Weekend Maritime Melee! You can join LIVE at this link. If you are reading this after the show, refresh the Substack page for the podcast links. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Share Leave a comment View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Ukraine’s Inguar Defence builds armored medevac on combat-proven Inguar-3
Ukrainian armored vehicle maker Inguar Defence has developed a medevac variant of its Inguar-3 in a short development timeline. The medevac version keeps the Inguar-3’s proven armored shell but departs significantly from the baseline configuration inside. The new vehicle features specialized medical equipment, a redesigned floor layout, different mounting points, and a ramp for fast […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Army orders closed-circuit wind tunnel
The U.S. Army is buying a precision wind tunnel for its primary measurement standards laboratory at Redstone Arsenal, a piece of scientific equipment whose specifications reveal exactly how seriously the service takes the accuracy of its own test and measurement infrastructure. The Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal published a solicitation on May 1, 2026, […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Navy upgrades E-6B comms while its replacement takes shape
The U.S. Navy is upgrading the communications suite on the E-6B Mercury, an airborne nuclear relay aircraft, even as the service moves forward with the E-130J Phoenix II, the platform eventually set to replace it. Naval Air Systems Command published a presolicitation notice on May 1, 2026, announcing its intent to award a sole-source delivery […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Air Force looks to keep Minuteman III guidance system running to 2050
The U.S. Air Force wants to keep the Minuteman III flying through 2050, and it’s now looking for contractors who can help figure out how to do it. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center published a special notice on May 1, 2026, soliciting information from industry on how a contractor could assist in extending the […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Navy sets up $650M competition for 474 military boats
The U.S. Navy just spread a contract worth up to $650 million across eight small American boatbuilders to keep its fleet of rigid hull inflatable boats stocked for the next decade. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington awarded eight separate contracts on April 30, collectively valued at $325,9 million at the base level and stretching […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Raytheon gets $441M urgent GEM-T missile order
Raytheon RTX picked up a $441.6 million contract modification on April 30 to build PATRIOT GEM-T missiles, with the Department of War demanding delivery by September 30 — five months from award, no extensions mentioned. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, issued the modification bringing the deal’s total cumulative value to $441,600,000, according to […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Turkey’s MKE develops URAN vehicle-mounted 105mm howitzer
Turkey’s state-owned defense manufacturer MKE has unveiled the URAN, a vehicle-mounted 105mm howitzer derived from its export-proven BORAN towed artillery system, ahead of the SAHA 2026 defense exhibition. The URAN made its public debut through MKE’s official announcement, with the company billing it as a mobile fire support solution engineered for rapid ground maneuver. Where […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Sweden launches its first military spy satellite
Sweden launched its first military reconnaissance and surveillance satellite into orbit at 9:00 a.m. Swedish time, marking the country’s operational entry into the space domain and delivering a national capability to detect and analyze threats on a global scale. The satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Israel doubles down on air power with two-squadron fighter buy
The Israeli Ministerial Committee on Procurement has approved the simultaneous acquisition of two new fighter squadrons — a fourth F-35 squadron from Lockheed Martin and a second F-15IA squadron from Boeing — in deals valued at tens of billions of shekels, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Sunday. The approval marks the opening move in […]View the full article
- Yesterday
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Marines say they need around 40 amphibious warfare ships
The U.S. Marine Corps needs roughly 40 amphibious warfare ships to sustain its goal of keeping three Marine Expeditionary Units deployed simultaneously, and it currently has 32. That gap, laid out publicly by Marine Lt. Gen. Jay Bargeron at the Modern Day Marine exhibition in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, frames one of the most consequential […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Pyka’s autonomous cargo plane completes first flight
Pyka announced on April 27 that its DropShip autonomous aircraft completed its maiden flight, a milestone that the Alameda, California-based company said sets a new benchmark for rapid development of advanced autonomous systems. DropShip is a Group 3+ autonomous aircraft built for contested logistics and multi-mission operations. It carries a maximum takeoff weight of 1,400 […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Eric Schmidt’s drone killer is now protecting U.S. troops in Germany
The U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll visited U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach in Germany on April 30, where commanders from the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 12th Combat Aviation Brigade briefed him on counter-unmanned aerial systems tested and implemented over the past year, and among the systems on display was the Merops AS-3 Surveyor counter-drone […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Australia’s Speartooth submarine drone enters U.S. service
An Australian-built submarine drone just crossed the Pacific. C2 Robotics commissioned and christened its Speartooth Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle in a formal ceremony marking the first delivery of the platform to the United States. Rather than the traditional bottle of champagne swung by a dignitary, Speartooth was christened by a robotic arm — with a […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Special Forces sink a ship with Ukrainian-designed drone boats
Green Berets from 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) remotely launched and controlled unmanned surface vessels during Exercise Balikatan 2026, using them to deliver shaped charges against a target vessel off the western coast of Itbayat, Philippines, on April 24 — and the drone boats they operated bore a striking resemblance to one of the most […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - One hour per drone: KIHOMAC takes on America’s UAV supply crisis
KIHOMAC’s founder and CEO Ki Ho Kang took to social media on Friday to share flight test footage of Agami, the company’s fixed-wing drone developed under Project Liberty, a program specifically designed to demonstrate that military-grade UAVs can be produced at wartime scale without the bottlenecks that have plagued American drone manufacturing for years. The […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Trump praised AI drone killer at the White House
U.S. President Donald Trump just gave Allen Control Systems the most public endorsement a defense startup could ask for. Speaking at the White House, Trump praised the Austin-based company’s Bullfrog autonomous weapon station, calling it “that new very special machine gun that knocks them out of the air like flies.” Allen Control Systems posted the […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Britain tests new drone-killing missile in Jordan
Britain’s newest drone-killing missile just proved itself in the desert, according to the latest UK government report. Cambridge Aerospace’s Skyhammer interceptor missiles and launchers successfully completed trials in Jordan less than two weeks after the UK Ministry of Defence signed a multi-million-pound contract with the veteran-led startup. The tests took place at one of Deep […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Army tests Askari’s hand-launched drone interceptor
Askari Defense has been selected as a semifinalist in the U.S. Army’s xTech|Adaptive Strike competition, and the Atlanta-based company is heading to the National Training Center to put its Rift Alpha interceptor drone through its paces alongside the soldiers it was designed to protect. The selection marks a concrete step forward for a small firm […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - U.S. military showed its top commanders ship-based drone defense system
Sierra Nevada Company’s BRAWLR air defense system made a notable public appearance at Exercise FLEX 2026, when senior U.S. military commanders, including the four-star head of U.S. Southern Command, got a close look at the weapon system integrated aboard a Textron Systems’ multi-mission uncrewed surface vessel. The visit brought together Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, […]View the full article
- Last week
-
CDR Salamander - Fullbore Friday
With the Falkland Islands War back in the news, thought ti would be fun to bring back a FbF from 2017 on a nice, tidy OP by our British friends. A great story via our friends at ThinkDefence about an exceptional side-show to The Falkland Island war. Pebble Island lies to the north of West Falkland and in 1982, its 25 inhabitants were mainly involved with tending 25,000 sheep. Its small airstrip was subject to a daring raid by the SAS. It did have an airstrip, though, or more accurately, four, three of grass, and the other on the beach. On the 24th of April, Naval Air Station Calderon (as it was called) was established there. ... HMS Hermes was detached along with HMS Glamorgan and HMS Broadsword. The SAS and personnel from 148 (Meiktila) Commando Forward Observation Battery made for a raiding force totalling 45 and were loaded aboard four 846 NAS Sea Kings for the flight into the assembly point at Phillips Cove. HMS Glamorgan fired on the western edge of the runway to provide a diversion and draw in Argentine forces. Shortly after, the main attack commenced; Then our own mortar opened up, lighting the whole place up like it was a bright daylight. The mortar man was having a lot of trouble. Every time he fired the bloody thing, the whack kicking the base plate further into the ground. There was virtually no enemy fire on us, so the boys got stuck into the planes. They split into seven two-man teams. It was a bloody big trip and they had a lot of ground to cover. It’s not as if the planes were all parked in a neat row. They were all over the strip. And all the time the boys were running against the clock. Five planes were destroyed using the explosive charges that they had with them. The Pucara was the tallest of the aircraft. As they approached each plane, one bloke would give the other a leg up on to the wing. Once up, he then leaned down and hauled the other one up to join him. The Skyvan was not a problem. The Mentors were very small, and with one great leap, the guys got themselves on the wings. (Ramsey, SAS: The Soldier’s Story) Aircraft had cables ripped out and fuel tanks punctured with small arms fire and grenades. It was all over by 03:35 and the SAS teams withdrew to their waiting helicopters, the job well done. Six Pucara, four T-34C and one Skyvan were damaged or destroyed. That, my friends, is a nice, efficient OP. Share Leave a comment This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. View the full article
-
Missile Intercept not Possible but Unit Continues to Fire
Hi All, Been away a while. Appears I have a bunch of catching up to do. Wanted to share a brief summary of a problem to see if anyone has had the same experience. Will upload a scenario to demonstrate the issue over the weekend. Issue: Two pairs of SCUD missiles are launched from a RED land unit over water. Target is a BLUE airfield. The SCUDs are traveling about 3800 knots at VHIGH altitude. I have an AEGIS equipped Kongo class (BMD capable) loaded with SM-3 Block 1A slightly north of the SCUD travel path with both air and surface radar energized. The Kongo initially shoots three SM-3's with the targets about 68 nm out. Usually, the 3 SM-3's hit one of the four targets. The Kongo will next shoot 3 SM-2MR Block IIIA's. I assume the switch to a SM-2MR missile occurs because the SCUDs are within the SM-2MR envelope at this point. About 60 percent of the time there is one hit. Afterward, because the SCUD's velocity is higher than the SM-2MR and the SCUDs are passing the Kongo, a SM-2MR cannot catch the SCUD. As such, I would think the model would switch back to the SM-3. However, the Kongo will continue to fire 3 SM-2MR's at a time, which apparently "self destruct" as soon as they are launched. The occurs until the SM-2MR inventory is used up at which time the Kongo would again start using the SM-3 or the SCUD is outside the range of the SM-2MR and then the unit would start using the SM-3. Any ideas? Scenario to follow. Thanks in advance and Happy May. George
-
Defence Blog - U.S. Army equips AMPV with 30mm cannon for armored units
The United States Army has delivered its first Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) equipped with a 30mm cannon to the 1st Cavalry Division, marking the initial fielding of a more heavily armed variant of the platform, the division confirmed in a recent announcement. The first new combat vehicles have been received by the division’s units as […]View the full article
-
Defence Blog - Norway receives first Trophy-equipped Leopard 2A8 tanks
Norway’s first Leopard 2A8 NO main battle tanks arrived at Rena camp in Østerdalen on April 30, 2026. The new main battle tanks came equipped with Trophy active protection systems, making them among the most survivable tanks fielded by any NATO nation. Two of the 54 Leopard 2A8 NO tanks Norway has ordered from German […]View the full article